Lindsay, Paris and Dirty, Sexy, Money

Toward the end of the Press Tour Q&A session about ABC's new drama series "Dirty Sexy Money," Samaire Armstrong -- who plays a poor little rich girl whose acting career is mostly purchased by her gazillionaire dad - was asked what were her thoughts on the latest DUI arrest of Lindsay Lohan, with whom Armstrong worked in the '06 flick "Just My Luck."

"What thoughts do you have, now that you're starring as a very wealthy person on this new series, but you've worked with someone who has all the money in the world and now seems to have the weight of troubles on her shoulders," the TV critic cooed.

"Tread lightly," Armstrong's co-star Seth Gabel warned her.

He needn't have bothered. Armstrong may have sounded like a ditz during the Q&A, but she deftly dodged the question with a wide-eyed "What's your question exactly?"

Critics laughed.

The critic repeated the question, ending with "I just wanted to ask your thoughts on that, since you're the only one on the panel who's worked with Lindsay Lohan."

"I don't think that has anything to do with our show. I'd rather not answer that question," Armstrong replied, batting an impatient eyelash.

"Just my luck," the critic shot back.

"DSM" creator Craig Wright jumped in, speaking for the entire show and saying "we wish Lindsey the best and we hope she finds happiness."

Another critic joined the fray, noting Samaire's character, Juliet Darling, bore more than a passing resemblance to Paris Hilton and wondering how much of an inspiration Hilton had been.

"Personally, not much," Armstrong replied. "I mean, in my normal life she is an inspiration"

Critics chuckled some more.

"But for my character, I just really went off of what was scripted and what, you know, how I was directed." Turning to Wright, she added "Craig, did you write her with Paris in mind?"

"I wouldn't know enough about Paris Hilton that I could base a character on her. I mean, honestly, I read poetry."

He blathered on a bit more about the character absolutely positively not being based on Hilton.

Then, as if remembering that during Hilton's in-and-out jail time, ABC and/or ABC Studios had placed full-page ads in newspapers that read, "We Love Paris: The Darling Family," and a plane flying a banner bearing the same message had also shown up at various points in the Hilton jail-time saga, Wright suddenly changed gears and added, "We were aware of the network's decision to publicize the show by sending in a plane over Paris' house, and we felt that within the bounds of modern irony, it was a welcome addition to the show."

I find it more than a little bit amusing that a network is going to air a show called "Dirty Sexy Money." Not sure whether dirty and sexy are adjectives describing the money or just buzz words intended to pique the viewer's interest in all things "edgy." Perhaps they could develop sister shows such as "Fast Sexy Guns" or "Hot Sleazy Bling." I have no idea what this new show is about but based on the title alone I wouldn't even think about watching it. The race to the bottom continues, with the networks leading the way.